Adsorbent boom for the containment of contaminant spills

ABSTRACT

A system, method for forming, and a method of manufacturing a boom for the containment of contaminants is disclosed. The boom includes a cover and an adsorbent or absorbent material disposed within the cover. The adsorbent or absorbent material may be formed of one or more sheets of flexible fabric folded upon itself to form a convoluted structure within the elongated cover. Additionally, the material disposed within the elongated cover may form a non-cylindrical cross-section. The material may be at least partially a polyester material.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent document claims priority to, and is a continuation of, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/881,895, filed Jan. 29, 2018, which inturn claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/454,941,filed Feb. 6, 2017. The disclosure of each priority application is fullyincorporated into this document by reference.

BACKGROUND

This patent document relates to booms used for the containment of oil orother chemical spills. More particularly, the patent document relates tobooms formed using substantially flat, oil-adsorbent fabric sheets thatare highly compressible and flexible, and a method of making suchoil-adsorbent booms.

There are currently many different oil-adsorbent (or oil-absorbent) boomproducts on the market for use in the containment of oil or otherchemical spills, both on land and in water. Due to the locations andenvironments where these booms are utilized, they generally must containmaterials which are both oleophilic (i.e., oil-absorbent oroil-adsorbent) and hydrophobic (i.e., water-resistant). With such aconfiguration, the booms may effectively adsorb oil or other chemicalspills, while not absorbing water from the surrounding environment. Theyare commonly used in the form of tubular or cylindrical elongated sacksof netting which retain the adsorbent material. Following an oil orchemical spill, the booms are placed around the polluted location inorder to prevent the expansion of the spill and simultaneously adsorbthe oil from the ground or water surface.

Often, the adsorbent material used within the booms includes melt-blownpolypropylene or other polymers in the form of pulp, flakes, etc. Inorder to manufacture the boom, the melt-blown polypropylene or othermaterial(s) is stuffed into a cylindrical, elongated sack, either byhand or by machine (e.g., ram, auger, blowing, etc.). FIG. 1 illustratesa cut-away cross-section of an example of such a conventional boom 10,wherein an adsorbent material 12 is stuffed within a surrounding netting14 so as to form a tubular structure. However, the process of stuffingthe adsorbent material into the sack not only causes the boom to take ona substantially cylindrical shape, but also compresses and compacts theadsorbent material, resulting in a stiff, densely-packed boom. Inaddition, the rounded cross-sectional profile of the cylindrical boommay leave very little of the boom (and its associated adsorbentmaterial) in direct contact with the ground, water, or other spillsurface. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a contact surface 16 islimited due to the cylindrical cross-sectional shape of the boom 10. Assuch, oil or chemical spills may slide under the boom and/or theadsorption process may be slowed due to a lack of surface area of theadsorbent material being in contact with the contaminant(s), thereby notallowing much of the oil or other chemical material to adhere to thesurface of the adsorbent material. Furthermore, the adsorbent materialgenerally becomes less adsorbent when compacted, similar to the lostabsorption properties of a squeezed sponge.

In addition to the disadvantages in adsorption associated with theprocess of making conventional booms, the process also tends to make thebooms semi-rigid, thereby reducing their flexibility when deployedaround spills. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2, the boom 10 cannoteffectively be wound tightly when undeployed, thereby consuming a largeamount of storage space and/or making the boom 10 unwieldy to handleprior to and during deployment around spills.

Accordingly, the present disclosure describes a system and methodintended to address the issued discussed above and/or other issues.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a boom system for thecontainment of contaminants is disclosed. The boom system includes acover and an adsorbent or absorbent material disposed within the cover,wherein the material is formed of at least one sheet of flexible,adsorbent or absorbent fabric folded upon itself within the elongatedcover.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method of forming aboom system for the containment of contaminants is disclosed. The methodincludes providing an elongated cover capable of retaining a materialtherein, providing a plurality of fabric sheets formed of an flexiblematerial that is adsorbent or adsorbent, and arranging the plurality offabric sheets atop one another while folding the fabric sheets to form anested structure, such as one with a plurality of voids. The method alsoincludes placing the folded fabric sheets into the elongated cover toform an elongated boom.

In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method ofmanufacturing a boom system for the containment of contaminants isdisclosed. The method of manufacturing includes providing a framestructure, providing at least one roll of adsorbent or absorbentmaterial on the frame structure, the at least one roll of material beingrotatable relative to the frame structure, and providing a funnelstructure, the funnel structure having an first opening facing the framestructure and a second, opposite opening, wherein the funnel structurehas a width that is narrower than the width of at least one of the atleast one roll of adsorbent material. The method also includes providingan elongated mesh cover proximate the second opening of the funnelstructure, the elongated mesh cover capable of retaining a materialtherein, pulling a sheets of material from the at least one roll ofmaterial through the funnel structure to form a core having a structureof nested layers, and pulling the core through the elongated mesh coverto form a boom.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is partial cross-sectional view of a boom system in accordancewith the prior art.

FIG. 2 is a top view of an undeployed, coiled boom system in accordancewith the prior art.

FIG. 3A is a partial perspective view of a boom system in accordancewith an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of the boom system of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a boom system in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a boom system in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a partial top view of a boom system end connector arrangementin accordance with an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a top view comparison of an undeployed, coiled boom system inaccordance with the prior art with an example of an undeployed, coiledboom system in accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a system for manufacturing a boom inaccordance with an aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of adsorbent material sheet entry into afunnel for formation of a boom in accordance with an aspect of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of adsorbent material sheet entry into afunnel and chute for formation of a boom in accordance with an aspect ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an adsorbent core entry into apermeable cover for formation of a boom in accordance with an aspect ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description is made for the purpose of illustrating thegeneral principles of the present system and method and is not meant tolimit the inventive concepts claimed in this document. Further,particular features described in this document can be used incombination with other described features in each of the variouspossible combinations and permutations.

Unless otherwise specifically defined in this document, all terms are tobe given their broadest possible interpretation including meaningsimplied from the specification as well as meanings understood by thoseskilled in the art and/or as defined in dictionaries, treatises, etc.

It must also be noted that, as used in the specification and theappended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include pluralreferents unless otherwise specified. Unless defined otherwise, alltechnical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings ascommonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Allpublications mentioned in this document are incorporated by reference.Nothing in this document is to be construed as an admission that theembodiments described in this document are not entitled to antedate suchdisclosure by virtue of prior invention. As used herein, the term“comprising” means “including, but not limited to”. Additionally, usethe term “couple”, “coupled”, or “coupled to” may imply that two or moreelements may be directly connected or may be indirectly coupled throughone or more intervening elements.

In this document, position-identifying terms such as “vertical”,“horizontal”, “front”, “rear”, “top”, and “bottom” are not intended tolimit the invention to a particular direction or orientation, butinstead are only intended to denote relative positions, or positionscorresponding to directions shown when a boom or boom manufacturingsystem is oriented as shown in the Figures.

Referring to FIGS. 3A-3B, cut-away cross sectional views of a boomsystem 100 in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure is shown. Boomsystem 100 includes a mesh cover 102, wherein the cover 102 isconfigured to substantially retain an adsorbent material 104 therein.The cover 102 may be formed of any appropriate flexible material, andmay be formed of an impermeable material such as plastic, vinyl,polyethylene, urethane-coated polyester or canvas, or anotherimpermeable material. Alternatively, cover 102 may be formed of apermeable material, such as a fibrous polyester material, a cellulosicmaterial, a blend of polyester with cellulosic material, polypropylene,etc. While cover 102 is shown in FIG. 3A as being formed as asubstantially mesh-like netting, it is to be understood that cover 102may take other forms, such as a more tightly-woven sock-like structure,or a series of smaller covering structures such as loops, bands, rings,or other securing structures that cover some, but not necessarily all,of the adsorbent material 104. Furthermore, cover 102 (and boom system100) may be of any appropriate length. For example, in some embodiments,boom system 100 may be 10 feet in length, while in other embodiments,boom system 100 may be longer (e.g., 25 feet in length). However, it isto be understood that boom system 100 may be shorter or longer than theexamples provided above, and, therefore, is not limited by the examplesdiscussed in this patent document. Additionally, boom system 100 may beconfigured to be couplable to one or more additional boom systems 100 toform an elongated chain of boom systems of any desired length.

Unlike material 12 discussed above with respect to FIG. 1, which isstuffed into a boom cover in the form of pulp, flakes, etc., adsorbentmaterial 104 is formed of one or more flexible and compressibleelongated sheets 106 of adsorbent material. The adsorbent sheets 106 maybe formed via any appropriate method, for example by hydro-entanglement(i.e., spunlace). The sheets 106 may be layered atop one another and/orinwardly folded so as to form a nested, adsorbent structure of a desiredthickness (e.g., 1-5 inches), and the layered sheets 106 may then bepulled, pushed, or loosely stuffed into the cover 102 to form the boomsystem 100.

In one aspect, and as will be described in further detail below, aplurality of sheets 106 may be vertically arranged relative to oneanother, and the edges of each sheet may be inwardly folded intosubstantially C-shaped, loosely-packed, nested formations (as shown inFIGS. 3A-3B) such that no sheet 106 is flat (i.e., disposed along asingle plane). In this document, “nested” sheets refers to one or morefolds being disposed within other, larger folds, thereby forming aconvoluted structure. Each sheet 106 includes a plurality of arcs thatform rounded peaks, valleys, and/or side-facing curves such that aplurality of voids are formed between the nested sheet 106, which arethen pulled through cover 102 to form the boom system 100. The C-shapedformations provide for increased interstitial space between the variouslayers of sheets 106 as compared to earlier methods, which tightlycompacted the adsorbent (or absorbent) material within the boom cover.Accordingly, the C-shaped formations enable increased compressibility ofboom system 100, while still allowing the boom system 100 to remainstructurally resilient when deployed. Furthermore, the C-shapedformations of sheets 106 (and the interstitial space between thoseformations) also allow for more surface area of the adsorbent material104 to be in contact with the spilled oil or other contaminant(s),thereby increasing the adsorption capabilities of the boom system 100.As used in this document, a “C-shaped” formation refers to any fold thatis curved to form a space that separates two portions of the foldedsheet, regardless of orientation. Thus, a “C-shape” may include aU-shape, a backwards C-shape, an upside-down U-shape, and the like.

While FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate sheets 106 of adsorbent material 104provided in a plurality of C-shaped formations, it is to be understoodthat sheets 106 may be folded or conformed in any appropriate manner soas to provide both loft when boom system 100 is deployed andcompressibility when boom system 100 is undeployed. For example, sheets106 may be provided in a plurality of Z-shaped formations, honeycombformations, or any other formation capable of forming a plurality ofpleats and/or folds in sheets 106 with interstitial spaces between thesheets 106. By folding or conforming sheets 106 in this way, boom system100 is highly compressible for packaging and/or transport, but capableof rebounding when deployed. For example, boom system 100 may becompressed to be up to three times, four times, five times or morethinner than its deployed state, thereby greatly reducing the size ofboom 100 when in storage and/or transport. Additionally, theinterstitial spaces between the respective sheets 106 provides for agreater amount of adsorbent surface area upon which any contaminants mayadhere.

Adsorbent material 104, like material 12 described above with respect toFIG. 1, may be formed of an oleophilic yet hydrophobic material, suchas, e.g., polyester and/or polypropylene. For example, in one aspect,adsorbent material 104 is formed of a combination of polyester materialand polypropylene material, with the polyester material accounting forat least 75% of adsorbent material 104, and the polypropylene materialaccounting for the remainder of the adsorbent material 104. In anotheraspect, adsorbent material 104 may be formed entirely of a polyestermaterial. However, it is to be understood that adsorbent material 104 isnot limited to the above examples, and adsorbent material 104 may beformed of any appropriate material.

In this document, the phrase “polyester material” may be used to referto a material that is substantially (i.e., more than 50%) polyester. Inembodiments in which the adsorbent material 104 is formed at leastsubstantially of a polyester material, boom system 100 is generallycapable of rebounding to a given operational size, even after beingcompressed for storage, transit, etc. This rebounding feature is due tothe polyester material's natural fiber characteristics, which maysubstantially return the material to its original shape, even whendeformed and/or compressed. Other materials, such as polypropylene,nylon, etc., do not generally possess such rebounding characteristics.Thus, a boom system 100 formed substantially of a polyester material maybe compressed for packaging, storage, and/or transport, and maynaturally decompress (i.e., rebound) to a desired operational volumewhen deployed.

Furthermore, the compressibility and reboundability of the polyestermaterial forming the adsorbent material 104 may also allow forreclamation of the oil or other contaminant adsorbed by the boom system100. That is, after the spill or other contamination is sufficientlycontained and/or the adsorbent material 104 is no longer capable ofadsorbing additional contaminants, the boom system 100 may be removedfrom the site and compressed to wring the contaminants from the boomsystem 100 for reclamation and/or disposal. The boom system 100 may thenbe properly destroyed or disposed of, or, in some instances, reused foradditional spill containment. While a polyester material is shown, it isto be understood that adsorbent material 104 may be formed of anysuitable compressible or reboundable material.

Referring still to FIGS. 3A-3B, boom system 100, when deployed, forms asubstantially elliptical cross-section due to the multi-layeredretention of sheets 106 within cover 102. With such a substantiallyelliptical cross-section, a contact surface 108 of the boom system 100extends across a significantly greater area than the contact surface ofa conventional cylindrical boom system. For example, the contact surfacearea covered by contact surface 108 (which is shown as the bottom of theboom) may be up to 75% greater than the contact surface area covered bya conventional boom system. While a substantially ellipticalcross-section is shown in FIGS. 3A-3B, it is to be understood that thecross-section of boom system 100 may be another shape (e.g.,rectangular, trapezoidal, etc.) depending on the number and orientationof sheets 106, the method in which sheets 106 are disposed within thecover 102, the material(s) used for both sheets 106 and cover 102, etc.With greater contact surface area, boom system 100 is capable ofcontaining and/or adsorbing more contaminants than a conventionalcylindrical boom system. Furthermore, due to both the greater contactsurface area and the less compact nature of the layered sheets 106, boomsystem 100 may adsorb spilled contaminants at a higher rate thanconventional boom systems. For example, boom system 100 may adsorbcontaminants such as oil at a rate 50% faster than a conventionalcylindrical boom system.

While adsorbent material 104 is described above as an oleophilic,hydrophobic material such as, e.g., polyester and/or polypropylene, itis to be understood that adsorbent material 104 may be any appropriatematerial and may be used for spills other than those involvinghydrocarbons. For example, material 104 may be an absorbent, hydrophilicmaterial for use with water-based spills. Furthermore, the material 104may include surface active agents (i.e., “surfactants”), which may actas wetting agents and lower the surface tension between the solidmaterial 104 and the contaminant, thereby increasing the absorptionand/or adsorption rate of the contaminant.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, a boom system 150 in accordance with anotheraspect of the disclosure is illustrated. Unlike boom system 100described above with respect to FIGS. 3A-3B, which includes a pluralityof nested, convoluted sheets 106 to form the adsorbent material 104,boom system 150 is formed of a single sheet 152 of an adsorbentmaterial. Sheet 152, like sheets 106, may be folded upon itself to forma plurality of C-shaped (or otherwise-shaped) formations, which providefor increased interstitial space between the various folds of sheet 152to increase the surface area of adsorbent material in contact with thecontaminant spill.

While FIG. 4 illustrates that sheet 152 may be surrounded by a cover 154(such as a length of mesh netting or a series of partially coveringrings, bands, or loops) to form boom system 150, in accordance withanother aspect of the disclosure, a cover may not be needed to form anadsorbent boom system. For example, referring to FIG. 5, a boom system160 is illustrated, wherein boom system 160 includes only a single sheet162 of adsorbent material folded upon itself to form a convolutedstructure. With no cover to retain the shape of sheet 162 in its foldedstate, sheet 162 may be held together through any appropriate means. Forexample, one or more folds 164 of sheet 162 may be ultrasonically weldedor affixed with fasteners (e.g., nylon ties or other partial covers,grommets, etc.) to other surfaces of the sheet 162 so as to allow boomsystem 160 to retain its folded state. Accordingly, boom system 160 mayprovide the increased adsorption capabilities of boom systems 100, 150described above, but with a simplified construction.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, an end of boom system 100 in accordance withan aspect of the disclosure is shown. While boom system 100 includes anadsorbent material 104 substantially surrounded by a cover 102, boomsystem 100 may further include a line 170 positioned between the cover102 and adsorbent material 104, wherein line 170 may be configured toprovide additional structural support to the boom system, as well as asecure coupling location between adjacent boom systems when joinedtogether. Line 170 may be formed as any appropriate lead, such as alength of rope, cord, ribbon, etc. In some embodiments, one or morefasteners may be coupled to line 170 to aid in the connection of one ormore additional boom systems. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, each boomsystem 100 may include an inboard fastener 172 and an end fastener 174at each respective end of the boom system 100. With such aconfiguration, adjacent boom systems 100 may be coupled to one anothervia the respective fasteners 172, 174, with the portion of adsorbentmaterial 104 between fasteners 172, 174 overlapping for each respectiveboom system 100 in order to prevent bypass of contaminants betweencoupled boom systems 100. Additionally and/or alternatively, one or moreof the fasteners 172, 174 may be utilized to couple the boom system 100to other features, such as stakes, buoys, etc.

While not shown in FIG. 6, in accordance with another aspect of thedisclosure, instead of overlapping ends of adjacent boom systems 100 bycoupling fasteners 172, 174, a sleeve or collar having an adsorbentmaterial therein may be utilized over a portion of adjacent end surfacesof coupled boom systems 100. With such a configuration, two or more boomsystems 100 may be coupled by only respective end fasteners (e.g.,fasteners 174) to form a continuous system that substantially preventsbypass of contaminants between the coupled boom systems 100, while alsoavoiding potentially wasteful overlap of adsorbent materials.

In addition to the notable advantages in contaminant adsorption due tothe use of nested sheets 106 within cover 102, boom system 100 may alsobe capable of being tightly wound into a coil for both storage andtransport to the site of a spill. As is illustrated in FIG. 7, boomsystem 100, when wound, includes little or no voids between rings andthus takes up significantly less storage area than the conventional,prior art boom system 10. For example, boom system 100 may take up 70%less storage space than prior art boom system 10. As noted above, insome embodiments, the nested, vertically-arranged sheets 106 may beformed substantially of a polyester material, which may allow for theboom system 100 to be tightly compressed for storage and/or transport,but to rebound to a desired operational size when uncoiled and deployedfor use.

Furthermore, boom system 100 may also be capable of being unwound anddeployed more quickly than a conventional cylindrical boom system. Thatis, due to the larger and more flat contact surface 108, the boom system100 may be unrolled quickly and easily, similar to a rolled rug beingunwound. Additionally, the compressible fabric sheets 106 also allowboom system 100 to be more flexible than a conventional boom systemhaving semi-rigid, highly-compressed adsorbent material therein. Thus,boom system 100 is capable of being manipulated in various directions,which allows the user of boom system 100 to quickly surround spills.

Next, referring to FIGS. 8-11, a system and method of manufacturing aboom system in accordance with an aspect of the disclosure isillustrated. As shown in FIG. 8, a boom manufacturing system 200comprises a frame structure 202 having a plurality of material rolls 204rotatably supported on a plurality of shafts 205 and dispersed bothhorizontally and vertically within frame structure 202. In FIG. 8, atotal of five separate material rolls 204 are shown within framestructure 202, with three rolls 204 aligned horizontally along one planeand two other rolls 204 disposed above and aligned horizontally alonganother plane. However, it is to be understood that boom manufacturingsystem 200 may utilize any number of material rolls 204. For example, asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 4-5, a boom system may be formedof only a single sheet of adsorbent material. In such a configurations,only one material roll 204 would be utilized.

Each material roll 204 holds a length of an adsorbent material sheet206. In one embodiment, adsorbent material sheets 206 are a fabricformed primarily of a polyester material. However, adsorbent materialsheets 206 may be any suitable adsorbent (or absorbent) material. Theadsorbent material sheets 206 shown in FIG. 8 have an equal width (e.g.,16 inches). However, adsorbent material sheets 206 may be any width, andall adsorbent material sheets 206 held within frame 202 do notnecessarily need to be of equal width. That is, within the same boom,different adsorbent material sheets 206 may have varying widths.

During construction of a boom system (such as boom system 100 describedabove with respect to FIGS. 3A-3B), adsorbent material sheets 206 arepulled from each roll 204 in the direction of a first opening of afunnel 210, with the adsorbent material sheets 206 eventually convergingbefore entry into funnel 210 in a layered fashion. The adsorbentmaterial sheets 206 may either be pulled manually (i.e., by hand) ormechanically. Additionally, a length of line 207 may be pulled from aspool 208 concurrently with the adsorbent material sheets 206. Line 207may be configured to provide additional structural support to the boomsystem, as well as a secure coupling location between adjacent boomsystems when joined together. Line 207 may be formed as any appropriatelead, such as a length of rope, cord, ribbon, etc. Alternatively, insome embodiments, line 207 may be omitted from the boom system.Furthermore, construction of the boom system may also include manual orautomatic steps of cutting and/or crimping the ends of the adsorbentmaterial sheets 206, installing fasteners, coiling the boom system intoa transportable roll, and/or binding the boom system in a coiledconfiguration.

Referring to FIGS. 9-10, the opening area of funnel 210 has a width thatis narrower than the width of at least some of the sheets 206. Thus, asadsorbent material sheets 206 are pulled through funnel 210, funnel 210is configured to force the edges of the adsorbent material sheets 206 tofold inward. As the funnel 210 becomes narrower, each sheet 206 formsadditional folds atop of itself, creating a plurality of C-shapedformations of adsorbent material, as discussed above with respect toFIGS. 3A-3B. Once again, the funnel 210 may be configured such that theadsorbent material sheets 206 create other formations, such as Z-shaped,honeycombed, etc. Additionally and/or alternatively, in one aspect ofthe disclosure, the opening area of funnel 210 may be adjustable so asto accommodate different amounts and/or sizes of materials, differentdesired widths of the boom system, etc.

Upon exiting a second opening in funnel 210, opposite the first opening,the folded adsorbent material sheets 206 together form an adsorbent core214, which is fed through an elongated chute 212, thereby forming theadsorbent structure of the boom system. The adsorbent material sheets206, which originate as a certain width (e.g., 16 inches), are thusfolded upon themselves to form the narrower adsorbent core 214 (e.g., 5inches).

Referring to FIG. 11, as the length of the adsorbent core 214 and line207 are pulled through elongated chute 212, they may be pulled into apermeable cover 215, such as, for example, a mesh-like netting or sock.The cover 215 may be formed of any appropriate flexible material, andmay be formed of an impermeable material such as plastic, vinyl,polyethylene, urethane-coated polyester or canvas, or anotherimpermeable material. Alternatively, cover 215 may be a formed of apermeable material, such as a fibrous polyester material, a cellulosicmaterial, a blend of polyester with cellulosic material, polypropylene,etc. The cover 215 acts to retain the adsorbent core 214 such that theadsorbent core 214 maintains its plurality of folds and the voids formedby the folds, both when compressed for storage and when deployed foractive use. Once a preferred length of the adsorbent core 214 is pulledthrough an equal length of cover 215 (e.g., 25 feet), both the adsorbentcore 214 and cover 215 may be trimmed and closed on each end so as toform a usable boom system for the adsorption of oil or othercontaminants. As disclosed above with respect to FIG. 7, the boom systemmay be coiled and/or compressed for compact storage and transport, andmay be easily unfurled and decompressed when needed for spillcontainment.

These and other advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent tothose skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Accordingly,it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes ormodifications may be made to the above-described embodiments withoutdeparting from the broad inventive concepts of the disclosure. It shouldtherefore be understood that this invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments described herein, but is intended to include allchanges and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of theinvention as defined in the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A boom for the containment of contaminants,the boom system comprising: a cover; and one or more sheets of flexiblefabric positioned within the cover and folded to have one or more foldsthat are disposed within other, larger folds, thereby forming aconvoluted structure within the cover, wherein each of the sheetscomprises an adsorbent material.
 2. The boom of claim 1, wherein theadsorbent material comprises polyester or polypropylene.
 3. The boom ofclaim 1, wherein the adsorbent material comprises polyester andpolypropylene.
 4. The boom of claim 1, wherein the convoluted structureforms a plurality of voids.
 5. The boom of claim 1, wherein the one ormore sheets of flexible fabric are disposed within the cover to form anon-cylindrical cross-section.
 6. The boom of claim 1, wherein the covercomprises a mesh netting material.
 7. The boom of claim 1, furthercomprising: a line disposed under the cover; and at least one fastenerthat is coupled to the line and that is configured to enableinterconnection between adjacent boom systems.
 8. A method of forming aboom for the containment of contaminants, the method comprising:providing an elongated cover; providing one or more sheets of a flexiblefabric material; arranging the one or more sheets to have one or morefolds that are disposed within other, larger folds, thereby forming aconvoluted structure; and placing the one or more sheets in the form ofthe convoluted structure into the cover to form a boom.
 9. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the one or more sheets comprise a plurality of sheets;and arranging the one or more sheets comprises configuring the pluralityof sheets in nested layers by arranging the plurality of sheets atop oneanother while folding the fabric sheets.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein arranging the one or more sheets forms convoluted structure witha plurality of voids.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein placing the oneor more sheets into the cover forms a non-cylindrical cross-section. 12.The method of claim 8, wherein the flexible fabric material comprises anadsorbent material.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the flexiblefabric material comprises polyester or polypropylene.
 14. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the flexible fabric material comprises polyester andpolypropylene.
 15. A boom for the containment of contaminants, the boomcomprising: a cover; and a plurality of sheets of flexible fabric foldedupon themselves within the cover, wherein the plurality of sheets areconfigured in nested layers.
 16. The boom of claim 15, wherein thenested layers form a plurality of voids between the sheets, and no sheetis disposed along a single plane.
 17. The boom of claim 15, wherein thenested layers form a plurality of C-shaped folds.
 18. The boom of claim15, wherein the flexible fabric comprises polyester or polypropylene.19. The boom of claim 15, wherein the cover is an elongated cover andcomprises a mesh netting material.
 20. The boom of claim 15, furthercomprising: a line disposed under the cover; and at least one fastenerthat is coupled to the line and configured to enable interconnectionbetween adjacent boom systems.